Trulock v. Com., 81-CA-481-MR
| Citation | 620 S.W.2d 329 |
| Decision Date | 04 September 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-CA-481-MR,81-CA-481-MR |
| Parties | Theodore Condor TRULOCK, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Kentucky |
James T. Fitzgerald, Louisville, for appellant.
Stephen L. Beshear, Atty. Gen., R. Thomas Carter, Asst. Atty. Gen., Frankfort, for appellee.
Before GANT, GUDGEL and HOWERTON, JJ.
This is an appeal from a judgment entered by the Bullitt Circuit Court. Appellant was adjudged guilty of the offenses of receiving stolen property of the value of more than $100.00 and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to a prison term of five years. Appellant assigns five errors as grounds for reversal of the judgment below. We have concluded that appellant's third assignment of error has merit and reverse.
In his third assignment of error, appellant contends that the judgment must be reversed because a single attorney represented both him and his co-defendant at trial, and the record does not show that the trial court complied with RCr 8.30. Appellant first brought this issue to the attention of the trial court by a written motion for a new trial. The special judge who heard appellant's post-trial motions agreed that RCr 8.30 was not complied with but found that the rule was directory, not mandatory, and that since appellant had failed to show that he was prejudiced by the admitted failure to comply with the rule, his motion for a new trial on this ground should be denied. While we agree with the court that appellant was not prejudiced by the failure to comply with RCr 8.30, we cannot agree that the rule is merely directory, and that the admitted failure to comply with the rule does not require that his conviction be set aside.
The rule became effective on January 1, 1978, and states that no attorney shall be permitted to act as counsel for two persons charged with the same offense unless the judge of the court explains to the defendant the possibility of a conflict of interests on the part of the attorney representing him, and both defendants execute and enter in the record a statement that the possibility of a conflict of interests on the part of their attorney has been explained to them, and they nevertheless desire to be represented by the same attorney. We find nothing in the language of the rule which justifies a finding that it is directory. On the contrary, our examination of the language of the rule has convinced us that it was intended to impose an absolute duty on the trial court in cases where the defendant may be punished by a fine of more than $500.00 or by confinement, not to permit one attorney to represent two defendants...
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Kirkland v. Com.
...(1990); Smith v. Commonwealth, Ky., 669 S.W.2d 527 (1984). Peyton, also reinstated the Court of Appeals decision in Trulock v. Com moawealth. Ky.App., 620 S.W.2d 329 (1981), so as to eliminate the necessity to preserve the issue by defense objection. Trolock supra, held that objection was n......
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Brewer v. Com., No. 2004-SC-000741-MR.
...represented in this case. This issue has been given much treatment over the last twenty-five years. For example, in Trulock v. Commonwealth, 620 S.W.2d 329 (Ky.App.1981), the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that RCr 8.30 was structured to eliminate a case by case determination of prejudice r......
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Smith v. Com., SC-573-TR
...of Terry and Ronald and find that both were competently represented. We are aware that the Court of Appeals in Trulock v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 620 S.W.2d 329 (1981), held that RCr 8.30 is mandatory and that failure to comply with it may never be harmless error. However, this Court has rep......
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Brock v. Com., 80-CA-2198-MR
...explained to him by the court and that he nevertheless desires to be represented by the same attorney. See also, Trulock v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 620 S.W.2d 329 (1981). The required statement is in the record, and we are disposed to rely on it, although we have no record of the actual coll......